I took a steadying breath, then nodded.
Toby’s eyes narrowed in focus.“Let’s go.”
We stayed low, weaving between obstacles as the arena’s neon lighting flickered across the floor.Toby moved surprisingly quiet for someone who normally crashed through like a puppy on caffeine.Every so often, he glanced back to make sure I was following.
I stayed close, keeping my steps light, breath controlled, heart racing in an exhilarating but also terrifying way.
We approached the two players slowly, using the barriers and their distractions in our favor, listening to the muffled shouts and the pattering of paintballs thudding against obstacles.
Toby held up three fingers.Two.One.
We stood, aimed, and fired.
Two hits.Perfect.
“Yes!”Toby whooped, lifting his gun triumphantly.“We’re unstoppable!Bonnie and Clyde who?Candy and Chaos, baby!”
I laughed as I tugged him to a safe spot before we got hit ourselves.Toby didn’t seem to care, even when someone aimed at us, but thankfully missed.
This was what fun was.What normal was.What feeling alive felt like.
Toby slung an arm around my shoulders and leaned in close.“See?I told you.You’re terrifying when you focus.”
I bumped him lightly with my elbow.“You’re the terrifying one.”
He gasped.“I’m honored you feel that way.”
Another paintball cracked against a nearby barrier, reminding us we were still in a warzone.
Toby straightened.“One more before we run out of time?”
I opened my mouth to answer—
Then—
SMACK!
A paintball slammed into the wall next to my head.It was too close, too fast.The sound it made a little familiar, pulled right out of living nightmares.
My breath stuttered and another shot rang out.And another.The air thinned.My vision tunneled.And the arena faded.
I wasn’t behind a wooden barrier anymore.I was in the hallway.Gunshots exploding off lockers.Ardens shouting.Janice screaming.My lungs burning as we ran.
Then I was in the basement.Tied in place, the dark hole of the gun pointing into my face.The shot that boomed through my ears.The smell.That sharp acridness burning along my throat and lungs.Suddenly, there wasn’t paint and color.There was only darkness and fear.
“Cadence!”Toby’s voice broke through the jumbled memories, distant at first, then closer.Urgent.“Hey.Hey, Cadence.Look at me.Cadence!”
Toby’s voice was sharp, desperate, and filled with fear.
I blinked and the arena snapped back into place in pieces.Neon lights.Paint-splattered walls.The faint chemical scent of the gear.The muffled thumps of paintballs still being fired.
But they didn’t sound the same, not like a real bullet.Not as loud.Not as...deadly.
My lungs tightened painfully.
“Hey, Cadence.”His gloved hands cupped my helmet, forcing my gaze to his.“Look at me.Right here.Stay with me.”
My breaths came shallow, fast, uneven.I couldn’t slow them down.Toby pulled me against him, shielding me with his body as more shots cracked in the distance.
